Jennifer Pannill

Jennifer Pannill is the head of talent acquisition and employer branding at Covestro, one of the world’s leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics. Over the past five years, she’s enjoyed connecting people to the right career opportunities and sharing Covestro’s mission and values, which are centered around making the world a brighter place. She’s also served as the Co-Chair of Covestro’s United Way campaign over the past two years. Her ability to motivate and inspire others led to more leadership level donors and higher dollars per donor than ever before. “I’m really proud of the work we did this past year, especially during a global pandemic, to help motivate others to give,” Jennifer said. “There wasn’t a department we didn’t touch as part of our efforts to help people understand where the money goes and how it’s being used to help those in need.”

Jennifer’s passion and commitment to helping others started at an early age; she was one of the youngest candy stripers at West Penn Hospital. Even after she was old enough for paid employment opportunities, Jennifer continued her work at West Penn and ultimately clocked the most volunteer hours of any junior volunteer. Her dedication was sparked by tragedy at the age of six when her father suffered a massive heart attack, leaving her mother a widow caring for two small children. “For the first time in our lives, my family experienced need,” said Jennifer. “We were lucky to have each other and basic human necessities, but others are not always so lucky. As a society, I think we take so much for granted, and so many of us are just one or two life events away from experiencing need. My experience has given me a greater appreciation for organizations like United Way, who lift families up going through a hardship.” 

That perspective keeps Jennifer grounded and involved with organizations like United Way. As a Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) member, Jennifer helps shed light on the depth of need in our community and the depth of resources that United Way provides. And by connecting with strong, like-minded women through the WLC, Jennifer hopes to inspire the next generation by coming together as a community not only to identify opportunities to support women in need but to encourage more women to get involved. “What attracted me to WLC was the incredible programming,” she said. “They know how to empower women in ways that truly make a difference, helping them find their purpose and develop into strong, influential community leaders. We see that we are making a difference right here in our community, and I’m so grateful to be a part of that.”

In addition to being a member of WLC, Jennifer also serves on the board of directors for Oakland Catholic High School and for Life’s Work of Western PA, a nonprofit whose mission is to help people with disabilities find meaningful employment opportunities.

To learn more about United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council, contact Lynne Popash at lynne.popash@unitedwayswpa.org in Allegheny County, Terri Dominick at Terri.Dominick@unitedwayswpa.org in Westmoreland County, or Sherrie Dunlap Gallagher at sherrie.dunlapgallagher@unitedwayswpa.org in Butler County.